Part 1-style questions
Examiner: Are there any TV channels in your country that don’t
have adverts?
Loraine: No … they’re all commercial channels and show adverts all day
long … too many really … and there’s also a lot of product
placement going on … especially in soap operas where they place an item
just behind the actors.
Examiner: Do you enjoy watching adverts on TV?
Karin: No … not really … I hate commercial breaks during a film … it
really spoils the flow … and during prime time viewing they seem to
squeeze even more ads in than usual … celebrity endorsements also get
on my nerves … everyone knows they’re only doing it because they’re
getting paid.
Examiner: What are the best ways for ordinary people to advertise
something they want to sell in your country?
Marianne: The simplest way is to place an advert in something
like the classified ads section of a local paper … or there’s the Internet of
course … there are lots of sites like eBay where you can buy and
sell things online.
Part 2-style task
Describe an advert you once saw that was very effective. You should say
where this advert appeared
when you saw it
what it was advertising
and say why you thought it was so effective.
Max: OK … well this was about 4 years ago … I was looking for some
software to create videos … one day I got an email from a mailing list I’d
signed up to … there was a link in it to a press release … a company had
written something about a new product that was similar to what I was
looking for … at the end of the press release there was a link to the sales
page … I hadn’t heard of the company but I was interested and clicked the
link to the ad …. what caught my attention immediately were the number
of testimonials from people who had bought the software … I think
testimonials are like the online equivalent of word of mouth advertising
and are really persuasive … anyway … when I got to the bottom of the
page there was a great big call to action button inviting me to buy … I was
totally persuaded and ended up making a purchase … what made it so
effective I think was the power of those testimonials … they’d been written
by people very much like me … they’d had a need and the software had
obviously turned out to be just what they were looking for … when you
think that this was a newish company they wouldn’t have had any brand
awareness at all … they probably wouldn’t have had much of a budget for
advertising … obviously you wouldn’t advertise a product like this through
the mass media on TV … they probably didn’t even have an advertising
agency to support them …and yet they’d managed to create a great deal
of brand loyalty from previous customers … I think that was really
effective.
Part 3-style questions
Examiner: What is it that makes an advert effective?
Spencer: Well … when a company launches a product they
have to consider the Internet … especially how it can be used to spread the
word on social media … so in this context a video that goes viral is
probably the most effective type of advert you could make.
Examiner: What are the advantages to companies of advertising on the
Internet rather than TV?
Stelios: I’d imagine the main advantage is you can reach your target
audience much more effectively … if you bring out a niche product for
example … or you have a tight advertising budget … you can advertise on
particular sites that the people you want to reach visit … that’s not
something you can do on TV.
Examiner: What things do advertising companies do that might give it a
bad name?
Raol: For me the most irritating is cold calling … we must get two or three
of these every day at work … then there’s junk mail that gets posted
through the letterbox … and of course the online equivalent of this
… spam emails … I think it’s this kind of advertising that tends to annoy
people.
Definitions
advertising agency: a company that creates adverts for other
companies
advertising budget: the amount of money a company decides to
spend on advertising
brand awareness: how well people know a particular brand
brand loyalty: the degree to which people continue to buy from the
same brand or company
buy and sell: often used to refer to the buying and selling of items
between individuals
call to action: something that encourages someone to take a
particular action, such as making a purchase or clicking a link on a
website
celebrity endorsement: to have a well-known person promote a
product
classified ads: small advertisements often put in a newspaper or
magazine by individuals
to cold call: to call someone with the aim of selling
something without them asking you to do so
commercial break: the short period during TV programmes when
advertisements are shown
commercial channel: TV channels that make money from showing
advertisements
to go viral: to quickly become extremely popular on the Internet
through social media
junk mail: unwanted promotional leaflets and letters
to launch a product: to introduce a new product
mailing list: a list of names and contact details used by a company to
send information and advertisements
mass media: large media outlets like TV, newspapers and magazines
niche product: a product that is aimed at a distinct group of people
to place an advert: to put an advert somewhere
press release: something written by a company for newspapers and
magazines and websites to share and publish
prime time: the time during the viewing schedule when most people
watch TV or listen to a broadcast
product placement: to advertise a product by using it as a prop in a
TV show or film
sales page: a page specifically used to promote a product or service
to show adverts: to display adverts on TV
social media: websites that enable users to create and share content
or to participate in social networking.
spam email: unwanted, promotional email
target audience: the people a company want to sell their product or
service to
word of mouth: recommendations made by individuals to other
individuals about a product of service
